It has become tradition for CDC to hold three seminars annually, in Port Elizabeth, Durban and Rosslyn respectively. This year's Durban Catia Automotive Tooling Seminar's focus was primarily on innovation and generative tooling for the automotive industry. The seminar was a full-day event attended by existing Catia customers, Catia enthusiasts and delegates interested in finding out more about the latest technology and industry developments. Attendees ranged from relatively small tool rooms to larger Tier 1 Suppliers and even large OEMs such as Toyota.

The automotive industry is facing tough challenges today: pressure to reduce costs, manufacturing obstacles, increased risk, demand to innovate - to name just a few. The local OEMs are demanding 'faster, better and cheaper' production of tooling and prefer their supplier to use the same CAD/CAM technology as they do.

CDC illustrated the current realities in the automotive industry and demonstrated Catia as the standard in the automotive industry worldwide. Videos were shown of how Catia is implemented in the design and manufacturing of products in almost every conceivable industry and how it is used in our everyday life activities. CDC's application engineers demonstrated a realtime simulation of the standard bidding process that is undertaken by the majority of companies in the automotive industry. By using the latest release of Catia Version 5, CDC demonstrated how companies can embed company know-how, re-use their resources and optimise their processes by using the same system throughout.

Guest speakers at the event included representatives from OEMs such as Toyota who have chosen Catia as their standard CAD/CAM solution. In his presentation, Toyota's design office manager emphasised the importance of communicating with suppliers through the same Catia native format. TDM, the largest press tool manufacturer in South Africa, commented on the effective use of Catia to increase productivity. Smiths Manufacturing, one of the main suppliers to Toyota shared its experience and presented the benefits it has received from using Catia.

The Seminar was well attended by the Durban members of the local Toolmaking Association of South Africa (TASA). A representative from TASA gave an overview on the association's visions and goals. He highlighted the need for more sophisticated and technologically up-to-date 'toolmaker' skills that are necessary for growth within the automotive industry and to compete against the overseas competitors. He also emphasised the importance of assisting smaller suppliers to be able to access the most appropriate CAD/CAM technologies available.

CDC will be hosting the next Catia Automotive Tooling Seminar in Rosslyn in September.

For more information contact Igal Filipovski, CDC, 011 786 3516, www.cdcsa.co.za